1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum cleaner. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dust receptacle fixing/separating apparatus for fixing and separating a dust receptacle with respect to a cyclone unit applied for a vacuum cleaner to centrifugally separate and collect dust from external air as drawn in, and a cyclone dust collecting device having the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A cyclone dust collecting device is used for a vacuum cleaner to separate and collect dust from drawn-in air and for this purpose, comprises a cyclone unit that separates the dust from the external air by a centrifugal force and a dust receptacle that collects therein the separated dust.
FIG. 1 shows a generally upright-type vacuum cleaner adopting the cyclone dust collecting device. The vacuum cleaner 10 comprises a cleaner body 20 including a motor driving chamber 21 and a dust collecting chamber 22, a suction brush 30 that draws in dust on a surface being cleaned together with ambient air, and a cyclone dust collecting device 40. The cyclone dust collecting device 40 comprises a cyclone unit 50 and a dust receptacle 60 and is mounted detachably to the dust collecting chamber 22 of the cleaner body 20, with the cyclone unit 50 and the dust receptacle 60 connected with each other. The dust receptacle 60 has a handle 61 for convenient mounting and separation of the cyclone dust collecting device 40 with respect to the cleaner body 20.
As shown in FIG. 1, the cyclone dust collecting device 40 is mounted to the cleaner body 20 in a manner that an air inlet 51 and an air outlet 52 of the cyclone unit 50 are respectively connected to an air suction path 23 and an air discharge path 24 of the cleaner body 20. Upon starting the vacuum cleaner 10, a motor (not shown) in the motor driving chamber 21 generates a suction force at the suction brush 30. Dust-laden air on the surface being cleaned is drawn by a centrifugal force into the cyclone unit 50, passing through the suction brush 30, the air suction path 23, and the air inlet 51. The air being drawn in is induced spirally along an inner circumference of the cyclone unit 50 by the air inlet 51, thereby generating an air-vortex. The dust included in the air is separated by the centrifugal force of the air-vortex and collected in the dust receptacle 60. The dust-separated air is discharged to the outside, passing through a grill 70, the air outlet 52, the air discharge path 24, and the motor driving chamber 21.
When the dust receptacle 60 is filled with the dust by a predetermined amount after the cleaning work, a user separates the cyclone dust collecting device 40 from the cleaner body 20 by grasping the handle 61 to empty the dust receptacle 60. More specifically, here, the dust receptacle 60 needs to be separated from the cyclone unit 50.
However, while separating the cyclone dust collecting device 40 from the cleaner body 20 or carrying the cyclone dust collecting device 40 to empty the dust receptacle 60, connection between the dust receptacle 60 and the cyclone unit 50 might be released unintentionally. In this case, the dust in the dust receptacle 60 may be scattered about, thereby contaminating the surroundings.
In order to tighten the connection between the dust receptacle 60 and the cyclone unit 50, screw-connection of the dust receptacle 60 and the cyclone unit 50 has been suggested. However, the screw-connection is inconvenient for the user because the user has to hold one of the dust receptacle 60 and the cyclone unit 50 with one hand while unfastening a screw with the other hand. Furthermore, the dust receptacle 60 and the cyclone unit 50 are not easy to grasp with one hand.